Well, Brian Cashman can cross the first thing off his to-do list, as Jorge Posada signs a four-year, $52.4 million contract. While I'm happy that Cashman was able to get this done quickly, the deal shows exactly how big of a mistake he made when he declined to offer Posada an extension before the season started. By all accounts, Posada would have been willing to sign a three year extension for something around $30 million, which would be much better for the Yankees. Granted, there was no way to know that Posada would have a season like he did, but I still don't understand how Cashman could have looked at this offseason and thought there would be any better options.
Of course, just because Posada signed doesn't mean Cashman should stop looking for someone to replace him. This contract will last until Posada is 40 years old. Here is the list of players who have caught regularly and remained productive at that age:
- Carlton Fisk
Fisk was a freak of nature, and while Posada is a better candidate than anyone to replicate that kind of success, the Yankees shouldn't count on that. Getting a capable backup for the short term is imperative, and in the long term the Yankees should be prepared to move Posada to the DH spot after Giambi's contract is up next season.
However, those are concerns for another day. For now, I'm just going to enjoy the fact that we'll get to see Jorge finish his great career while still wearing pinstripes.
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